Francesco: A great person and runner, while criticizing the media for not covering oneself is a surprising reach. The reason his departure from Nike was not covered, is because while it's huge for him, it's not for anyone else. It's statistically not newsworthy. When someone's life is trail or ultra running they may not realize they exist in a numerically very small bubble.
Boulder Boys: Love it - great guys - do your own podcast! And yet as you wrote, "... they admitted that they self-censor in interviews for fears of brand repercussions." That says it all. I've hosted a podcast for 5 years and athletes won't say anything interesting until the mic is turned off and we're just chatting - those convo's are really good but never recorded. Runners complaining about boring media coverage are the pot calling the kettle black; read their own posts on FB or Strava: "Went for a beautiful run today; it's so good to be alive!" (hashtag, hashtag, hashtag).
Gotta remember: running is a Participation sport, not a Spectator sport! Forgetting this leads discussions on media into dead ends. 95% of runners don't give a s**t who won, let alone "free agency". Tell stories about them and they may read it; tell stories about yourself and they'll blow you off.
I’ve been following Francesco’s story on Instagram, and I truly commend him for stepping away from Nike and taking a leap of faith. That decision couldn’t have been easy, especially when you consider how contracts often limit what athletes can say publicly. I get it—sponsored athletes have to represent the brands they’re tied to. But at what expense? If being a sponsored athlete means losing the ability to speak up, challenge the industry, or tell your own story, then we’ve got it all wrong.
I would love to see athletes, especially those in the trail running or the running industry, take control of their own narratives. Instead of waiting for journalists or podcasters to share their journeys (and hoping they get it right), why not tell the story themselves?
When athletes share their stories in their own words, it creates something truly powerful—authenticity that reveals the layers of who they are beyond their sport. It’s not just about achievements; it’s about uncovering the values, struggles, and triumphs that often remain hidden. Francesco, for example, already has an audience that’s eager to listen. I just think how powerful it would be if he continued to share his story, unfiltered and direct. An insight into his journey and the values behind his decisions in a way that could make a huge impact in the industry.
And let’s be real—it’s good for people to use their voices, especially when it comes to calling out mega-corporations. We have these platforms, so why not use them? If we don’t, large corporations will just keep doing what they do: taking ideas from smaller, innovative brands like Satisfy and silencing their athletes or forcing them to conform to narratives that suit the company. These large corporations are powerhouses, no doubt—but they’ve gotten way too comfortable playing puppet master.
The bottom line? If you’ve got a story to tell, don’t wait for someone else to tell it for you—because they won’t tell it right. Take the reins, hit publish, and let the world hear it straight from you. It’s your story, after all.
I’m hoping the news and reporting around the sport of trail running never competes with the likes of the “big” sports (i.e. soccer or football). With that said, content falls into two buckets, informative or titillating. Having a runner change sponsors is barely either one…
Love "informative or titillating". I'll take either one (and would like to see more of the latter :-). What I'm having for breakfast is vastly more interesting to me than a runner changing sponsors.
For the sake of clarity and completeness, I will report my full comment, which was extrapolated and cut from its original context as it often happens. Thanks for sharing your opinions, which I respect and find interesting
“This is not to give myself more importance than what I have - it's a topic that I struggle with and I do not want to occupy more space than I deserve by any means - but isn't it something interesting to talk about? I see an important marketing/media gap here (the fact that there aren't relevant media talking about running/trail running, in general, especially in Europe).”
Thank you for this clarification. You have core credibility as a runner and person. I would like to retract my comment, and apologize for not trusting your intentions.
I think there are two types of media coverage oriented, one oriented to the deep core community that understands everything from, history, legacy, races, timing, etc, and the other side of the media.
As there is not much space in media, media needs to select what history or news they share, and what will bring them more traffic or reaction (sometimes).
There are very few worldwide media and many local or regional. To make it more exciting for their local communities, the media must cover what happens in their territory, first to engage with their audience and second to build all I mentioned above. If the media starts to pick and post only international news, then the local community knows more about X,Y,Z runners who may never come to run a race in their country.
I remember after Barkley and Jasmin Paris' extraordinary, historic finish, the Boulder Boys doing an ep complaining about why an event that's not really a traditionally competitive race gets all this media attention and they don't. And here they are again? If you want people to pay attention, it's on you to be more entertaining. You're not entitled to anyone's eyeballs.
Completely agree, Tyson. It may take courage for the pros to speak honestly - and Francesco showed great courage in going public with his reasons for leaving Nike - and that honesty is what would potentially make more of the sport's fanbase pay more attention to the contract/brand relationship side of the sport, or at the very least draw even more fans to the individual athlete. So many of the trail- and ultrarunning-focused podcasts have grown tired (at least for me) because we get the same interviews with the same pro runners who talk about the same things without ever really revealing much about who they really are and what they really think. I hope Francesco continues to speak his truth without fear of angering a new sponsor. Speaking his mind about Nike was good for the sport, and doing so in the future will be, too. I know I'll be rooting for him.
As a journalist who covers the sport on a hyper-local basis, what I cover rarely involves races with professional runners, so I realize it is not an apples-to-apples comparison here, but on the local level folks seem to care much less about who wins compared to who shows up to participate and contribute. People like to learn about the history of their local scene, and better get to know the people who make the community great - both the fastest folks and those who never touch a podium. Scaling that up, though, my conversations with folks about national/global events barely ever mention the brand an athlete is sponsored by. Fans of the sport like - and root for - the person, not the brand. So if a runner leaves Hoka for someone else, very few people care — that is, unless Hoka treats the runner like dirt on the way out the door and that news happens to leak.
My Comments - - -
Francesco: A great person and runner, while criticizing the media for not covering oneself is a surprising reach. The reason his departure from Nike was not covered, is because while it's huge for him, it's not for anyone else. It's statistically not newsworthy. When someone's life is trail or ultra running they may not realize they exist in a numerically very small bubble.
Boulder Boys: Love it - great guys - do your own podcast! And yet as you wrote, "... they admitted that they self-censor in interviews for fears of brand repercussions." That says it all. I've hosted a podcast for 5 years and athletes won't say anything interesting until the mic is turned off and we're just chatting - those convo's are really good but never recorded. Runners complaining about boring media coverage are the pot calling the kettle black; read their own posts on FB or Strava: "Went for a beautiful run today; it's so good to be alive!" (hashtag, hashtag, hashtag).
Gotta remember: running is a Participation sport, not a Spectator sport! Forgetting this leads discussions on media into dead ends. 95% of runners don't give a s**t who won, let alone "free agency". Tell stories about them and they may read it; tell stories about yourself and they'll blow you off.
I do realize what you wrote. See comment below please.
I’ve been following Francesco’s story on Instagram, and I truly commend him for stepping away from Nike and taking a leap of faith. That decision couldn’t have been easy, especially when you consider how contracts often limit what athletes can say publicly. I get it—sponsored athletes have to represent the brands they’re tied to. But at what expense? If being a sponsored athlete means losing the ability to speak up, challenge the industry, or tell your own story, then we’ve got it all wrong.
I would love to see athletes, especially those in the trail running or the running industry, take control of their own narratives. Instead of waiting for journalists or podcasters to share their journeys (and hoping they get it right), why not tell the story themselves?
When athletes share their stories in their own words, it creates something truly powerful—authenticity that reveals the layers of who they are beyond their sport. It’s not just about achievements; it’s about uncovering the values, struggles, and triumphs that often remain hidden. Francesco, for example, already has an audience that’s eager to listen. I just think how powerful it would be if he continued to share his story, unfiltered and direct. An insight into his journey and the values behind his decisions in a way that could make a huge impact in the industry.
And let’s be real—it’s good for people to use their voices, especially when it comes to calling out mega-corporations. We have these platforms, so why not use them? If we don’t, large corporations will just keep doing what they do: taking ideas from smaller, innovative brands like Satisfy and silencing their athletes or forcing them to conform to narratives that suit the company. These large corporations are powerhouses, no doubt—but they’ve gotten way too comfortable playing puppet master.
The bottom line? If you’ve got a story to tell, don’t wait for someone else to tell it for you—because they won’t tell it right. Take the reins, hit publish, and let the world hear it straight from you. It’s your story, after all.
I’m hoping the news and reporting around the sport of trail running never competes with the likes of the “big” sports (i.e. soccer or football). With that said, content falls into two buckets, informative or titillating. Having a runner change sponsors is barely either one…
Love "informative or titillating". I'll take either one (and would like to see more of the latter :-). What I'm having for breakfast is vastly more interesting to me than a runner changing sponsors.
For the sake of clarity and completeness, I will report my full comment, which was extrapolated and cut from its original context as it often happens. Thanks for sharing your opinions, which I respect and find interesting
“This is not to give myself more importance than what I have - it's a topic that I struggle with and I do not want to occupy more space than I deserve by any means - but isn't it something interesting to talk about? I see an important marketing/media gap here (the fact that there aren't relevant media talking about running/trail running, in general, especially in Europe).”
Thank you for this clarification. You have core credibility as a runner and person. I would like to retract my comment, and apologize for not trusting your intentions.
I appreciate Buzz. Thank you, apologies don't happen very often, especially online, so I really appreciate your words. Just as an example, listen to this podcast at min. 35. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Munm5pLyTMkHnmIKd4ByV?si=7c7baf56b9724b65 and let me know what think...
I think there are two types of media coverage oriented, one oriented to the deep core community that understands everything from, history, legacy, races, timing, etc, and the other side of the media.
As there is not much space in media, media needs to select what history or news they share, and what will bring them more traffic or reaction (sometimes).
There are very few worldwide media and many local or regional. To make it more exciting for their local communities, the media must cover what happens in their territory, first to engage with their audience and second to build all I mentioned above. If the media starts to pick and post only international news, then the local community knows more about X,Y,Z runners who may never come to run a race in their country.
I remember after Barkley and Jasmin Paris' extraordinary, historic finish, the Boulder Boys doing an ep complaining about why an event that's not really a traditionally competitive race gets all this media attention and they don't. And here they are again? If you want people to pay attention, it's on you to be more entertaining. You're not entitled to anyone's eyeballs.
To your last paragraph about an opportunity for a new media outlet, might I suggest Electric Cable Car? https://electriccablecar.com
Completely agree, Tyson. It may take courage for the pros to speak honestly - and Francesco showed great courage in going public with his reasons for leaving Nike - and that honesty is what would potentially make more of the sport's fanbase pay more attention to the contract/brand relationship side of the sport, or at the very least draw even more fans to the individual athlete. So many of the trail- and ultrarunning-focused podcasts have grown tired (at least for me) because we get the same interviews with the same pro runners who talk about the same things without ever really revealing much about who they really are and what they really think. I hope Francesco continues to speak his truth without fear of angering a new sponsor. Speaking his mind about Nike was good for the sport, and doing so in the future will be, too. I know I'll be rooting for him.
As a journalist who covers the sport on a hyper-local basis, what I cover rarely involves races with professional runners, so I realize it is not an apples-to-apples comparison here, but on the local level folks seem to care much less about who wins compared to who shows up to participate and contribute. People like to learn about the history of their local scene, and better get to know the people who make the community great - both the fastest folks and those who never touch a podium. Scaling that up, though, my conversations with folks about national/global events barely ever mention the brand an athlete is sponsored by. Fans of the sport like - and root for - the person, not the brand. So if a runner leaves Hoka for someone else, very few people care — that is, unless Hoka treats the runner like dirt on the way out the door and that news happens to leak.